Death of Game Manuals & Inserts

[ctophil]

Hi everyone,

I talked about how publishers are gearing towards taking away instruction manuals from our game boxes these days. And then, I read an article on retrocollect.com about the same thing. Apparently, I'm not alone, but still in the tiny minority.

I miss the days when you open up a brand new, shrink wrapped game, you have all these cool inserts and advertisements for upcoming games, soundtracks, prizes, and magazines. There were even beautiful posters and maps with incredible artwork. I make it a ritual to go through all of those things and soak in the great packaging. Then, I would read the manual from the beginning to end to get my feet wet with the game's fantasy world--all this before the game goes into the console. The recent game that I bought, Dark Souls II, only had a disc with a transparent box so you can see the Warranties and Warnings written on the backside of the box cover. I have to reiterate that it is cheaply made. They didn't even print a SEPARATE piece of paper for the Warranty information like in Mass Effect 3 (another game that didn't have a manual). But they made use of the BACK of the box cover insert to save paper.

After reading the article below, I am further disgusted that Nintendo, of all people, didn't include an actual manual for the new Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. They are old-school publishers that are also getting away from their roots.

I tell my gaming friends about these things. But they hear it and forget about it. If I don't bring this topic up, it seems nobody really cares about what they get in the game box anymore. It's all about download this, download that. Fill up the hard drive with digital stuff. It's "convenient, saves space, and I just want to play the game." What happened to the appreciation of beautiful artwork, enjoying the backstory of the characters and levels, maybe a map or walkthrough to get you started, and a poster to hang on your wall? Does a painting look better on a wall or as a wallpaper on your computer? Do they have museums for digital paintings worth millions of dollars?

Here's the article about the same subject with a similar perspective: http://www.retrocollect.com/Articles/video-game-manuals-a-inserts-a-thing-of-the-past.html

[Nazi NecroPhile]

It's a slow death of everything physical; they're slowly weaning you off of nice packaging, manuals, etc. so you won't care as much when you get nothing but a download.

But the tricks on them, as I'm sticking to OBEY!

[Digi.k]

I think this has already happened on Wii U and XBone physical games.

[SuperGrafx]

I believe the trend these days is to provide a manual only with a premium or limited edition release.

Apart from that, it's definitely heading down the path of non-physical releases in the near future.

[ctophil]

I believe the trend these days is to provide a manual only with a premium or limited edition release.

Apart from that, it's definitely heading down the path of non-physical releases in the near future.

Yeah, but the problem with that is not all games come out with premium or limited edition copies.  In fact, it's a very small amount of games that do.  Like my friend said, game publishers these days put money on making fancy graphics & sound with super large development teams writing "hollywood-style" scripts with high-paying voice actors instead of on the packaging.  I choose simplistic gameplay with awesome packaging over the above stuff.  But I'm the minority on this choice.  So publishers would rather move to digital-only and make AAA titles anyway.  I'm thinking of stop playing modern games altogether if it comes to that.

[ClodBusted]

Even the collectors edition of Forza Horizon didn't came with a manual. Forza 4 CE only had a sheet with the basic controls explained.

I miss the times when Sim City on the SNES came with almost a whole book explaining the game mechanics and providing funny sidestories of fictious towns.

[esteban]

I, too, would read the manual, even if it sucked.

Sadly, only 2% of manuals in existence were created by someone who cared.

So, I wonder what is better: having print manuals or having higher quality digital manuals.

Trick question!

There is very little incentive to create a quality manual for most games. This is simply a matter of time & budget & priorities.


I wonder if we would be better off with fans of a game creating their own DIY manuals and distributing them via USPS.

ASIDE: My favorite part of a manual is the page labeled "notes" where I get to jot down my thoughts.

[PukeSter]

Even discs aren't really the same anymore, except that you can sell them. PS4 and Xbox One discs force you to download the game.

[Digi.k]

I am also sure all the 3DS games I have purchased the manuals are just 1 sheet with some info of the game and in some cases no manual

[Medic_wheat]

In a way get what you are saying. But you have to remember the juicy manuals with all of the art and story existed for a reason   

That being limited graphical power and memory limited how much kf the games story world and characterization could be fit in the game and needed to be included elsewere.

Now the more immersive things I do miss

Full color pages
maps
art books
hints that allow you to pass thr game using thibgs outside thr game (star tropics letter) 

But yes.  I see what you are talking about but at the same time partly why we are getting gimp manuals or non is because it is redundant information that the game already provided.

[SuperGrafx]

In a way, with the advent of e-readers and the internet, manuals and printed material are superfluous in this day and age.

Back when games came with nicely prepared documentation and thoughtful packaging, the internet really didn't exist like it does now.  Game companies did have an obligation to provide instructions to buyers of their $50+ games in order to take full advantage of them.

The more that users become accustomed to downloading 'how to play' guides off the internet, the less of a need there is to go through the added expense of providing paper documentation.
Not something I agree with 100%, but I do see the rationale that game companies are utilizing.

[ctophil]

I guess the majority of people don't see it the way I do.  I see everything in style and art.  I like my house in a certain way that is soothing and artistic to me.  I like the beauty of architecture, as well as decorations such as statues & figurines, paintings, lighting, plants & flowers, and so forth.  The same applies to video games.  I like the game to be both artistic on the inside (what's on the TV screen) and on the outside just the same (packaging).  I like to have something tangible in reality to put on a shelf to take pride and decorate the walls of something I enjoy having.  What I don't want is a bland-looking box with no instructions, no inserts, no maps, no nothing.  Might as well not release a game at all if I don't have nice packaging to go with the game.  I don't want to print out an online instruction manual on standard paper.  It's ugly and look like junk. 

Life is not all about the money, meaning how much more profit I can make today.  The Internet is fine for fast information at your fingertips.  But don't make it so important that we are deprived of our artistic nature with thoughtless packaging, whereby we download everything. 

Additional content: It seems video games are not the only problem we have in society these days.  Everything seems cheaper.  My local newspaper is a shocking 40% smaller than it used to be.  They cut the newspaper so they use less paper.  Even my bar of soap is smaller than before.  You pay higher prices for something less.

[Digi.k]

I guess the majority of people don't see it the way I do.  I see everything in style and art.  I like my house in a certain way that is soothing and artistic to me.  I like the beauty of architecture, as well as decorations such as statues & figurines, paintings, lighting, plants & flowers, and so forth.  The same applies to video games.  I like the game to be both artistic on the inside (what's on the TV screen) and on the outside just the same (packaging).  I like to have something tangible in reality to put on a shelf to take pride and decorate the walls of something I enjoy having.  What I don't want is a bland-looking box with no instructions, no inserts, no maps, no nothing.  Might as well not release a game at all if I don't have nice packaging to go with the game.  I don't want to print out an online instruction manual on standard paper.  It's ugly and look like junk. 

Life is not all about the money, meaning how much more profit I can make today.  The Internet is fine for fast information at your fingertips.  But don't make it so important that we are deprived of our artistic nature with thoughtless packaging, whereby we download everything. 

Additional content: It seems video games are not the only problem we have in society these days.  Everything seems cheaper.  My local newspaper is a shocking 40% smaller than it used to be.  They cut the newspaper so they use less paper.  Even my bar of soap is smaller than before.  You pay higher prices for something less. 

oh that's nothing new. the coke cans here in the UK have gotten smaller and so too have the chocolate bars but the prices have either remained the same or increased.

[Otaking]

I guess the majority of people don't see it the way I do.  I see everything in style and art.  I like my house in a certain way that is soothing and artistic to me.  I like the beauty of architecture, as well as decorations such as statues & figurines, paintings, lighting, plants & flowers, and so forth.  The same applies to video games.  I like the game to be both artistic on the inside (what's on the TV screen) and on the outside just the same (packaging).  I like to have something tangible in reality to put on a shelf to take pride and decorate the walls of something I enjoy having.  What I don't want is a bland-looking box with no instructions, no inserts, no maps, no nothing.  Might as well not release a game at all if I don't have nice packaging to go with the game.  I don't want to print out an online instruction manual on standard paper.  It's ugly and look like junk. 

Life is not all about the money, meaning how much more profit I can make today.  The Internet is fine for fast information at your fingertips.  But don't make it so important that we are deprived of our artistic nature with thoughtless packaging, whereby we download everything. 

Additional content: It seems video games are not the only problem we have in society these days.  Everything seems cheaper.  My local newspaper is a shocking 40% smaller than it used to be.  They cut the newspaper so they use less paper.  Even my bar of soap is smaller than before.  You pay higher prices for something less. 

oh that's nothing new. the coke cans here in the UK have gotten smaller and so too have the chocolate bars but the prices have either remained the same or increased.

yeh I noticed chocolate bars have shrunk and also bags of crisps too.

[esteban]

I guess the majority of people don't see it the way I do.  I see everything in style and art.  I like my house in a certain way that is soothing and artistic to me.  I like the beauty of architecture, as well as decorations such as statues & figurines, paintings, lighting, plants & flowers, and so forth.  The same applies to video games.  I like the game to be both artistic on the inside (what's on the TV screen) and on the outside just the same (packaging).  I like to have something tangible in reality to put on a shelf to take pride and decorate the walls of something I enjoy having.  What I don't want is a bland-looking box with no instructions, no inserts, no maps, no nothing.  Might as well not release a game at all if I don't have nice packaging to go with the game.  I don't want to print out an online instruction manual on standard paper.  It's ugly and look like junk. 

Life is not all about the money, meaning how much more profit I can make today.  The Internet is fine for fast information at your fingertips.  But don't make it so important that we are deprived of our artistic nature with thoughtless packaging, whereby we download everything. 

Additional content: It seems video games are not the only problem we have in society these days.  Everything seems cheaper.  My local newspaper is a shocking 40% smaller than it used to be.  They cut the newspaper so they use less paper.  Even my bar of soap is smaller than before.  You pay higher prices for something less.

Oh, I wish nicely designed print guides/manuals/inserts would remain with us, believe me.

I love physical stuff (I'm very tactile).

[TR0N]

It's a plague for modern video games.Still with in game tutorials most developers don't see a need to have manuals any more.Which can be,very annoying i remember buying mario kart 8 with a slip of paper that didn't list all the controlsThen i had to find a site that list them all  I do miss the art work and etc that came with manuals.Just look at any game that working design publish you won't see that in modern video games any more.

[cr8zykuban0]

It's a slow death of everything physical; they're slowly weaning you off of nice packaging, manuals, etc. so you won't care as much when you get nothing but a download.

But the tricks on them, as I'm sticking to OBEY!

I can agree with you on that. obey will give you great games with manuals. ps4 and xbox one wont give you that. they just getting lazy with the manuals which I think is total crap.

[ctophil]

I have some more thoughts about this topic.  Not only do modern games lack manuals and inserts to make them lighter and cheaper, but they are also made in China, Mexico, Thailand, Indonesia, or somewhere that has cheap labor to manufacture them. The same goes for game consoles, TVs, and other electronics. If it says, Sony or Toshiba, it's not really made in Japan. It's made in China.

If you look at retro games for NES or SNES, they are all Made in Japan, including their respective consoles. I don't have to say much about Microsoft. It's already made in China, Indonesia, or Mexico by default, even the discs. lol.

If you watch the Pawn Stars and American Pickers, products that were made back in the day were very high quality. It would probably last 100 - 200 years no problem. And everything were made in America or Japan, you know, within their respective countries. But the things we get today are so flimsy, cheap, and thin looking. I'd be surprised if they last 5 years. Hehe. I ask you, "So 20 years from now, will there be any classic antiques left in the world with the junk we're making to have an American Pickers or Pawn Stars show? Or will real Pawn and Thrift Shops just throw everything away and go out of business?"

For example, let's say in the future you sell a "rare" RPG game that came out in 2014 on Ebay. You say in the description that it is complete and in good condition. With retro to semi-retro games, you have manuals, inserts, posters, maps, etc. It would look awesome in the Ebay picture spread out like that. But with a modern game, all you have is a cheap case with a disc. *Crickets chirping* Certainly, collectors like me would pay much less, since it's not really a "collector's item." To me and I'm sure many game collectors out there would agree that all those physical objects in a game box adds a ton of value to the whole package deal.

[Medic_wheat]

I am some more thoughts about this topic.  Not only do modern games lack manuals and inserts to make them lighter and cheaper, but they are also made in China, Mexico, Thailand, Indonesia, or somewhere that has cheap labor to manufacture them. The same goes for game consoles, TVs, and other electronics. If it says, Sony or Toshiba, it's not really made in Japan. It's made in China.

If you look at retro games for NES or SNES, they are all Made in Japan, including their respective consoles. I don't have to say much about Microsoft. It's already made in China, Indonesia, or Mexico by default, even the discs. lol.

If you watch the Pawn Stars and American Pickers, products that were made back in the day were very high quality. It would probably last 100 - 200 years no problem. And everything were made in America or Japan, you know, within their respective countries. But the things we get today are so flimsy, cheap, and thin looking. I'd be surprised if they last 5 years. Hehe. I ask you, "So 20 years from now, will there be any classic antiques left in the world with the junk we're making to have an American Pickers or Pawn Stars show? Or will real Pawn and Thrift Shops just throw everything away and go out of business?"

For example, let's say in the future you sell a "rare" RPG game that came out in 2014 on Ebay. You say in the description that it is complete and in good condition. With retro to semi-retro games, you have manuals, inserts, posters, maps, etc. It would look awesome in the Ebay picture spread out like that. But with a modern game, all you have is a cheap case with a disc. *Crickets chirping* Certainly, collectors like me would pay much less, since it's not really a "collector's item." To me and I'm sure many game collectors out there would agree that all those physical objects in a game box adds a ton of value to the whole package deal.

That's where the various CE editions come into play with their maps and such. Sad but true

[ClodBusted]

And then there are those CE editions were the only "CE" content is a code sheet for DLC.

[Medic_wheat]

And then there are those CE editions were the only "CE" content is a code sheet for DLC.

Don't make me vomit with rage

[xcrement5x]

And then there are those CE editions were the only "CE" content is a code sheet for DLC.

Sad but true, this is why I love the special editions that NIS America puts out.  Normally they have pretty awesome bonuses and don't cost that much more than the regular game.  Most western game CEs come with digital goodies or a cheaply made ridiculous looking statue and a $100 premium over the game.

[munchiaz]

its a very sad day indeed. My copy of Bayonetta 2 didn't even come with a slip of paper explaining anything about the game at all. You have to rely on the in-game instructions, which i dislike.

[ctophil]

And then there are those CE editions were the only "CE" content is a code sheet for DLC.

Sad but true, this is why I love the special editions that NIS America puts out.  Normally they have pretty awesome bonuses and don't cost that much more than the regular game.  Most western game CEs come with digital goodies or a cheaply made ridiculous looking statue and a $100 premium over the game.

I rest my case.  I do agree that NIS, Atlus, and Xseed Games still release nice special editions.  I own some of them.  But the vast majority of games out there are catering towards the digital era and abandoning nice packaging altogether.  Well, I guess all we can do is depend on that little niche where smaller publishers still love the dying breed of hardcore gamers.

[Ninja Spirit]

This thing always made me laugh whenever I got Nintendo stuff